Fallen Dunnville soldier honoured for Ukraine effort

29-year-old killed serving with Ukrainian Foreign Legion

DUNNVILLE—Malick Joseph of Dunnville was posthumously honoured with the Ukrainian Canadian Sacrifice Medal for his efforts fighting overseas with the International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine. 

The 29-year-old lost his life in action on June 10, 2024, and his family was presented the award at a ceremony at the Dunnville Legion on Sunday, December 8.

UKRAINE—Malick Joseph sent home this photo, taken while on duty in Ukraine. —Submitted photo.

The medal, issued by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and the Ukrainian War Veterans Association of Ontario (UWVA), was recently awarded to nine recipients who were killed or wounded in action serving with Ukraine’s Armed Forces against Russian forces. It has been over two years since the war broke out between the two countries on February 24, 2022.

UWVA medal committee member Taras Jackiw provided some information to The Press on Joseph’s time in Ukraine, beginning with joining the Ukrainian Foreign Legion in January 2024. 

“He spent a long time in Kyiv (capital of Ukraine) before being deployed to several villages. He was learning how to fire rockets and use drones and became friends with soldiers from different countries. He also stayed in regular contact with his family back home,” said Jackiw.

He continued, “Joseph died in the village of Staromaiorske Donetsk Oblast (province), Eastern Ukraine on June 10 — the day the Russian military reportedly seized control.”

On Sunday, December 8, 2024 a ceremony was held at the Dunnville Legion Branch 145 to celebrate the life of and acknowledge the selfless sacrifice of Private Joseph. The emotional and pride-filled ceremony spoke of a young man “who just wanted to help” wherever he could. He ultimately gave his life in a place his mother described as being “where he knew no one, had never been before, and was all alone.” 

DUNNVILLE—Sherry Bousfield was presented the Sacrifice Medal for her son Malick Joseph, who was killed in the line of duty on June 10, 2024. Pictured (l-r): Captain (Ret’d) Andre Sochaniwsky, President of the Ukrainian War Veterans Association of Canada; Sherry Bousfield, mother of Malick Joseph; Taras Jackiw, Chair of the Sacrifice Medal Committee; and Elena Lazar, President of the Hamilton Branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. —Haldimand Press photos by Valerie Posthumus.

Present at the ceremony, Mayor Shelley Bentley said, “Today we acknowledge the profound act of courage as Malick chose to travel to Ukraine to face uncertainty and danger.” 

Sending her regrets and condolences, MPP Bobby Ann Brady commended Joseph’s “bravery, selflessness, and sacrifice”, adding, “The Canadian Ukrainian Sacrifice Medal is a fitting tribute to him.”

Speaking to The Press, Joseph’s mom Sherry Bousfield shared memories of her son, who grew up in Dunnville and Canfield.

“He was very outgoing. He liked to try all sorts of new things all the time. He was in the Air Cadets when he was younger. He flew gliders. He bought his own sailboat and taught himself to sail,” recalled Bousfield. “He could do anything he put his mind to. He bought a car with no motor, just a body, and he … got it running by himself.”

While Joseph enjoyed the company of family and friends, he was not afraid of spending time alone.

“He’d take his kayak and go down the river; he would see a little piece of land that nobody was on and he’d set up camp for the night,” said his mom.

Joseph was actively training for his private pilot’s license, had a scuba diving licence, and served as a volunteer firefighter, based out of Haldimand County Fire Department Staion 5 in Canfield.

While Bousfield said her son was a bit wild in his teenage years, he retained his core sense of goodness, always willing to help anyone who needed it.

She said Joseph had previously attempted to join the Canadian Armed Forces, but his scoliosis proved a barrier.

On his decision to head to Ukraine, Bousfield said he researched it for many months before telling his family: “He didn’t tell us until soon before he had to leave. I asked him why he wanted to do it and he said he wanted to help, because he knew what was happening over there…. He wanted to go help them for their lives and their homes.”

Prior to deploying, Bousfield said, “I think he was worried about me being worried about him.”

DUNNVILLE—Sherry Bousfield stands next to a memorial banner dedicated to her son, Malick Joseph, which will remain hanging in his memory. She holds the Canadian Ukrainian Sacrifice Medal he was awarded posthumously (shown close up inset).

Joseph spent his final night in Canada with his family, enjoying Chinese food together.

“I had written him a little note, just a little letter about how proud I was of him and how I loved him and stuff like that,” said Bousfield. “Funny enough, when I got his stuff back, that note was in a pocket in his backpack.”

She said she hoped he read it many times and felt the love of his family while in Ukraine. Bousfield knows her son had plenty of company once there.

“He made a lot of friends when he went over there,” said Bousfield. “They were from all over.”

Thanks to modern technology, Bousfield was able to maintain contact with her son while overseas: “He wouldn’t tell me a whole lot of the bad stuff and everything. He sent me lots of pictures of him with different guys and stuff, of course with these big guns and whatever,” said Bousfield. “He kind of just kept telling me he was training, but I think actually he might have been out fighting, but he didn’t want to tell me that.”

It took two days for Bousfield to find out her son had been killed in action.

“June 12 is when the police officer showed up at my place, and I knew right away what it was. He said he had been killed in action and it was some kind of explosion,” she recalled. “That morning on the 12th I had sent him a message, how he was and everything, of course I never got it back.”

She shared a story told to her about that day: “Russia had taken over that town that day. Malick had gotten out, but his friend didn’t, so he went back in to save his friend, but that’s just hearsay. I’m not sure if that’s really what happened…. All I know is that Russia had taken that town over and I know from the reports that it was an explosion.”

Instead of focusing on how he died, Bousfield chooses to focus on how he lived.

“He was good, he was caring, he cared about people. He was outgoing,” she said. “I heard so many stories after from so many people. I didn’t realize he touched so many people…. He was also a volunteer firefighter. He had joined before he left, so they were all at his funeral too and stuff. He was with the Port Maitland sail club and they were all there.” 

As for the medal, “I’m honoured that they recognize him, that he did this, that he’s not forgotten or pushed aside, another life lost.” 

Bousfield concluded, “Everybody’s got their dreams and different things they want to do, but he followed through with a lot of them.”